Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Cleared for Sale in Australia
Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 is eligible for sale in Australia after a court overruled the Apple lawsuit.
Today, an Australian appeals court overturned a ban on the sale of the company's tablet. Apple's allegations claimed that Samsung's tablet mimicked some aspects of the iPad and iPhone.
The official ruling said the evidence presented failed to show that the Galaxy tablet infringed on Apple's touchscreen patent. The court also said Apple would be unlikely to win if the case went to a trial. The earlier decision by the lower-court judge in Apple's favor was described as "clearly wrong."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Samsung was pleased with the court's ruling.
"We believe the ruling clearly affirms that Apple's legal claims lack merit," said the company.
Apple did not offer comments on the court's decision thus far.
Apple and Samsung began their legal woes in April. Several more lawsuits occurred in 10 countries, along with courts in several nations. Many of these courts ruled in Apple's favor.
In October, Australian Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett granted a temporary injunction against sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1.
Samsung appealed the decision.
Tim Renowden, an analyst at researcher Ovum Plc, spoke to Bloomberg about the decision.
"The removal of the injunction is a win for consumer choice in the Australian tablet market. Samsung is not out of the Australian scrub yet,” said Renowden.
The Australian High Court has the final say in the battle between Apple and Samsung, however.
The High Court must decide on Dec. 2 whether to grant Apple’s request to keep the ban in place beyond that date. If they approve the request, Apple will have 28 days from today to file an appeal request towards the ruling.
This win for Samsung will be sure to drive sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 this holiday season.
This tablet device should be available for Australian customers starting Dec. 2.
